Saturday, February 27, 2016

The director, who will be honored Saturday at the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ Golden Reel Awards, says, "We didn’t have the money to create the monster, which was the luckiest thing that ever happened."

This story first appeared in the March 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

"Sound is one of the best tools a filmmaker has at his disposal," says director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, the Spider-Man films), who will be honored Feb. 27 with the Filmmaker Award at the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ Golden Reel Awards (Richard King will receive the Career Achievement Award). "For Oz the Great and Powerful, we wanted to re-create the feeling [of the original 1939 film, when it went from black and white to Technicolor.]" He used a switch to color, a wider aspect ratio, 3D and more immersive sound. The beginning is recorded in mono and "as we journey to Oz, we opened it up, and sound takes on a fuller dimension; the audience was drawn into a new world."

For Evil Dead, "we didn’t have the money to create the monster, which was the luckiest thing that ever happened," he says. "We took out the natural sounds and created a track that was part voice, part music, part sound effect — the voice of the evil. We didn’t show what it was; we used these sound tools to plant the seeds in the minds of the audience of what this horror could be."

Friday, February 26, 2016

Sam Raimi will helm World War 3, based on predictions made in George Friedman’s The Next 100 Years

With Bill Block Media today officially closing a two-year, first-look production deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, director Sam Raimi is now officially set to wage World War 3. The feature film will be based on predictions from George Friedman’s non-fiction best seller, The Next 100 Years. The book, published in 2009, is officially described as follows:

A fascinating, eye-opening and often shocking look at what lies ahead for the U.S. and the world from one of our most incisive futurists.

In his thought-provoking new book, George Friedman, founder of STRATFOR — the preeminent private intelligence and forecasting firm — focuses on what he knows best, the future. Positing that civilization is at the dawn of a new era, he offers a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century all based on his own thorough analysis and research. For example, The U.S.-Jihadist war will be replaced by a new cold war with Russia; China’s role as a world power will diminish; Mexico will become an important force on the geopolitical stage; and new technologies and cultural trends will radically alter the way we live (and fight wars). Riveting reading from first to last, “The Next 100 Years” is a fascinating exploration of what the future holds for all of us.

Billblock Media optioned the book and is actively developing the adaptation, which Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Michelle Hurd has joined the Season 2 cast of Starz’s Ash Vs. Evil Dead as a series regular. She will play the high school sweetheart of the title character, Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell).

The cast also includes Lucy Lawless as Ruby, who now possesses the powerful Necronomicon; Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar, Ash’s loyal sidekick dealing with the trauma he suffered in the cabin; and Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell, who is grief-stricken after the death of her parents and plots revenge against the Evil Dead.

Hurd’s credits include series regular roles on Law & Order: SVU, Leap Year and The Glades. Most recently she recurred on Hawaii Five-O and Devious Maids. She is repped by Tina Thor at TMT Entertainment and TalentWorks.

The background is taken from the pages of the Necronominon with the composition of the piece meant to depict a large A for “Ash”.

It is fully licensed through Renaissance Pictures with the artwork signed off by Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert!
Here’s both versions of the print that can be ordered over at SilverBow Gallery.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

"Ash Vs. Evil Dead" was one of the more popular shows on Starz this past fall, and it will probably grow even more popular when it returns for season two. Dana DeLorenzo, who plays the role of Kelly Maxwell in the show, is one of the reasons why.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Today kicks off New York Toy Fair 2016. And with it comes our first look at the exciting action figure line-up for Ash Vs. Evil Dead. Neca is bringing everyone's favorite chainsaw-handed Deadite killer to stores everywhere later this year. And the Bruce Campbell doppleganger will not be arriving alone.

This first trio of action figures is based on Ash Vs. Evil Dead Season 1. We get Ashley Williams in his signature blue shirt, with chainsaw hand and shotgun. The second action figure coming our way is an Ash variant, which shows the aging stock boy and lothario in his red ValueShop smock. And the third figure is based on the likeness of the show's most popular Deadite Eligos, who appeared over the course of the entire first season run.

No pricing has been listed, and it isn't known when we'll be able to get our hands on these exciting new action figures. The photos show a work in progress, so we expect that we might not get see Ash invading Toys R Us and Target until later in the year, when Starz debuts Ash Vs. Evil Dead Season 2, which should arrive around Halloween time.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Chevrolet have just dropped a new commercial for its Malibu and Cruze models inspired by a horror movie trailer and directed by Evil Dead director Sam Raimi.

The commercial starts off like a movie trailer, building suspense after a lone woman enters a haunted-looking house and is confronted with an evil spirit at the top of a stairwell.

Interspersed with flashbacks, she is drawn towards a scary looking door at the end of a corridor and is reaching for the handle – as you do – even though there is obviously evil incarnate behind it.

Luckily for her though, in this ‘trailer’ she is actually able to hear the viewers as they yell, like we all do, at the screen: “What are you doing! Stop! There’s a monster in there!”

Director Sam Raimi said: said: “I’ve been in plenty of theatres where the audience is so concerned for the safety of the main characters that they call out warnings to save them. That’s what this is based on.”

Raimi has a string of movies to his name including The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II as well as Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2 and 3. His most recent work is comedy horror series Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Check out the sculpt of an alternate portrait for NECA’s Ash vs Evil Dead 7″ Scale Ash Williams Figure. The new head sculpt showcases an “Angry Face” version of Ash. We know that NECA has a few different figures planned, including a Deadite, two versions of Ash, and, eventually, a Mego style Ash.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Lee Majors (Do You Believe) and Ted Raimi (Xena: Warrior Princess, Spider-Man) have been cast as Ash’s father and Ash’s childhood best friend, respectively, on the second season of Starz’s Ash Vs Evil Dead.

Budding comedy writers George Reinblatt and friend Christopher Bond were unemployed and fresh out of university more than a decade ago when they came up with a cockamamie plan to create their own musical.

“We just wanted to do something to showcase ourselves. It was just long ago enough that there was no YouTube. We decided to put on a live show,” Reinblatt recalled.

Evil Dead The Musical debuted in the summer of 2003 with little fanfare in the back room of the Tranzac Club, on Brunswick Avenue. The live stage production captures the essence of the cult classic horror films, Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness helmed by Sam Raimi and starring his high school friend Bruce Campbell. The musical follows five college students as they end up in an abandoned cabin in the woods where they mistakenly unleash an evil force, turning them all into demons. Bloody mayhem ensues as Ash, the housewares employee-turned demon killer – with the help of his chain saw – is forced to save the day.

“I think it’s a bizarre movie to adapt into a musical, but it has great moments. Amazingly, it’s got great source material,” Reinblatt said. “I wanted to make a live musical experience fun. We insisted there had to be drinking in the theatre. Our musical is the only musical where you’ll see 20 straight guys giggling together.”